State seizes assets linked to drug trafficking

The High Court has ordered the forfeiture of more than Sh2.6 million after finding they were proceeds of crime and instruments of narcotics trafficking.

Justice Benjamin Musyoki, sitting in the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division, ruled that the money, held in an Equity Bank account, a Land Cruiser and a motorcycle be forfeited to the Assets Recovery Agency. 

The judge held that the agency had proved that the assets were linked to the illicit drug trade.

The court heard that on December 27, 2022, police officers from Merti police station encountered a group of about 10 armed men.

The group was travelling on several motorcycles and in three vehicles from Yamicha towards Merti. 

A violent exchange of fire ensued, during which the occupants fled into the darkness, leaving behind a Land Cruiser with deflated tyres. 

Inside the abandoned vehicle, officers discovered 11 bales of cannabis and a motorcycle.

Investigations by the ARA revealed the vehicle was registered to Hussein Guyo Huka, a former security guard, while the motorcycle belonged to Mohammed Guyo Dokata. 

Huka was subsequently charged in Isiolo Chief Magistrate’s Court with trafficking in narcotic drugs, but he was acquitted because the prosecution could not place him at the scene.

But during the proceedings, the ARA argued that the wealth amassed by Huka was inconsistent with his known history as a security guard. 

Investigator Duncan Odhiambo testified that Huka’s bank account saw deposits exceeding Sh14 million in less than a year. 

The agency asserted that these funds were "reasonably suspected to be from illegitimate dealing in narcotics drugs".

In his defence against the forfeiture application, Huka stated he was a legitimate livestock trader who buys and sells camels and other livestock in Eastern and North Eastern regions of Kenya.

“He claims that he buys the livestock from remote areas of Isiolo, Masrabit and Wajir counties at very low prices which he sells in other parts of the country. He adds that he has been running the said business since 2022,” 

He stated that his trade relied on oral agreements and cash transactions facilitated by trusted agents, which explained the large and frequent deposits flagged by investigators.

Huka admitted to working as a security guard at Biliyo Bulesa Conservancy before venturing into business, which was very profitable. 

The respondent also leaned heavily on his previous acquittal in a criminal trafficking case, arguing that because he was found not guilty by a magistrate, "the allegations that the money and vehicle sought to be forfeited is linked to the said offence has no foundation to stand on".

However, Justice Musyoki dismissed these arguments, pointing out that the acquittal occurred because Huka was not placed at the scene, not because the drugs were absent.

The court took aim at Huka’s claim of a livestock business generating millions without a paper trail.

“Although he claims that his business is run in remote areas where there are no facilities for recording transactions, he himself opened a bank account,” the judge observed. 

"I do not believe that a livestock trading business attracting the kind of figures shown in the respondent’s accounts would be done as casually as the first respondent would want the court to believe." 

The judge noted the absence of market receipts, county government permits, or any record of cross-county livestock movement, as well as the respondent’s failure to produce affidavits from supposed business agents.

“Interestingly, he told the court that he began his livestock business in 2022 yet the vehicle is shown to have been acquired in 2021. He has not made any effort to tell the court where he got the funds to buy the vehicle in 2021 from.”

Dokata never appeared in court to explain why his motorcycle was being transported in a vehicle filled with drugs during a shoot-out with police.

The court held that the gunfight, the presence of cannabis and the hasty escape of the occupants raised reasonable suspicion the motorcycle was an instrument of crime.

Consequently, the court ordered the National Transport and Safety Authority to transfer the titles of the vehicles to the ARA immediately.

The respondents were ordered to pay the costs of the application.